Angela Dawes: an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Today allegations about the personal life of Angela Dawes emerged in the British tabloid press. The British Gazette is not going to repeat these allegations here. Readers will know that this organ and its editor has taken the line that anonymity is not the path for lottery winners. That it inevitably involved lies and deception of friends and family. Angela and Dave Dawes bravely realise and accepted this and made the decision to “go public.” The British Gazette could well understand Angela Dawes may now be bitterly regretting her decision, but she and Dave made the right call.
The British Gazette reserves its criticism for the tabloid press. These allegations should not have been published. That is not to say that the British Gazette supports French style privacy laws in which politicians seek to protect details of the private lives from reaching the notice of their electorate.
There is a basic principle here that should be upheld. It is this: Private lives are for private people. Public people must accept that they lead public lives and have to accept this and live with the consequences.
As the British Gazette stated, Angela and Dave Dawes are typical Britons in that they are private persons and not public persons. They are not politicians. They are not media personalities. They are not political activists and or commentators. This means that their privacy should be respected.
Basically, the rule of thumb should be this: If you dish it out, don’t complain if you get some of it dished back at you. As US President Harry S. Truman famously said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
This dictum should apply to those of us involved in the public life of this nation. It does not apply to Angela and Dave Dawes. Angela and Dave Dawes are not in the kitchen of public life and consequently should not be exposed to its heat.